Lynda Carter (born July 24, 1951 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an Americanactress, dancer and singer. She is best known for the Amazonian title role in the fantasy-adventure television series Wonder Woman which aired from 1975 to 1979 and her tall, sculpted hourglass figure. Lynda Carter's portrayal of Wonder Woman and her association with the costume has been so popular and enduring that it has been virtually impossible to cast another actress in the same role.

Contents

Career

Carter entered a local beauty contest and achieved her first national fame by winning Miss World USA, in 1972, representing Arizona. As the United States entrant in the Miss World pageant she reached the semi-finals. After taking acting classes at several New York acting schools, she began making appearances on TV shows such as Starsky and Hutch, Cos and Nakia and B-movies including her only nude appearances in Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (1976) in which her very full breasts are seen numerous times.

Her acting career did not take off until she landed her starring role in the Wonder Woman television series. Her earnest performance endeared her to fans and critics and the series lasted for three seasons. Thirty years after first taking on the role, Carter continues to be closely identified with Wonder Woman, so much so that it has proved difficult for producers to find a suitable candidate to play the character in subsequent aborted productions (a TV pilot failed in the early 2010s, but in 2014 an actress was finally cast in the role for an upcoming supporting role in Superman v. Batman: Dawn of Justice).

Around the time of her Wonder Woman fame, Carter launched a musical career that continues to this day and she is more likely to be found crooning on stage than acting in front of cameras.